


Of Burned Cakes and Birthdays

by EternallyEC



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Quarantine, Quarantine 2020, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but they're mostly background, the whole gang appears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23584696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyEC/pseuds/EternallyEC
Summary: Tori's birthday has been ruined by the quarantine... or has it? Not if Jade has anything to say about it.
Relationships: Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 2
Kudos: 117





	Of Burned Cakes and Birthdays

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hey! This idea was formed during a long discussion in the Jori Discord and I just had to write it. Tooth-rotting fluff ahead! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this creation. 
> 
> And, as always, thank you to everyone over there who keep me so inspired and let me ramble on about Jori endlessly!

Jade sniffed the air, frowning when she smelled something burning. But what-- Her eyes widened and she practically jumped from the couch, racing into the kitchen and opening the oven, cursing the stupid timer on her phone for not going off. Coughing at the undeniable stench that only became stronger with the source exposed, she glanced frantically around for the oven mitts and gingerly lifted what  _ should  _ have been Tori’s birthday cake from the oven and slid it onto the top of the oven. 

For the most part, it didn’t look  _ too  _ bad, but the edges had a charcoal-looking crust along them and the cake itself looked almost black itself. Cocking her head to the side as she studied it, Jade was pretty sure that this  _ wasn’t  _ what the cake was supposed to look like. 

“Fuck,” she hissed, glancing at her phone and seeing that she didn’t have much time left. Luckily, she’d bought extra ingredients at the store and with a quick phone call to Tori with another list of things she told her she’d “forgotten” they needed to extend her grocery run, she was ready to try again. 

Dumping the ruined cake into the trash, she tossed the pan in the sink and pulled out a new one. Leaving the oven on, she debated for a second before sending a video chat request to Cat on her Pearphone. 

“Hi, Jade!” Cat singsonged as soon as she popped into view, waving excitedly. 

“Hey, Cat. Listen, I need your help and I don’t have much time,” she said bluntly, still staring at the pile of ingredients that she really didn’t feel like trying to deal with again. 

“Kay kay! What is it?” Cat asked with a bright smile. 

“I burned Tori’s cake,” she admitted with a scowl. “And I threw away the recipe earlier because I thought I was done. Help me,” she demanded, though she knew that Cat would hear it for the request it was, the way she always knew just what Jade meant without her having to say it. 

Cat nodded and immediately began to rattle off a list of instructions. Following them carefully, often having to stop the redhead and ask her to go back a step, Jade found the process a little easier and soon enough, she was pouring the batter into the cake pan. 

This time, Jade set the kitchen timer and the one on the microwave for good measure before she took a seat in the kitchen, determined not to ruin this one. She let her mind wander as Cat chattered away, some story about her brother that Jade had heard a million times before, letting herself think about Tori instead. 

Ever since they’d been quarantined, Tori had been different. While Jade didn’t mind the isolation, enjoying having her girlfriend to herself and finding the experience wasn’t all that different from her usual preferred lifestyle, it was obviously taking a toll on Tori. She was the extrovert of them and Jade knew that it was hard on her to have to distance herself from their friends and stay home, unable to even go see a movie now. 

But for the past week, she’d been even gloomier than usual. Jade didn’t think she’d seen her smile more than a few times a day and honestly, she missed it. Of course, Jade knew the reason behind it, but she still had asked Tori if she wanted to talk about it a few days ago. 

_ “I don’t know,” Tori sighed, looking down at her hands guiltily. “I’m glad that we’re together, but…”  _

_ “But?” Jade questioned gently.  _

_ “But I hate that I can’t celebrate my birthday at Nozu’s with everyone like we usually do,” she admitted after a few seconds. “My birthday’s supposed to be special, you know? And now it’s just going to be another day of sitting at home instead,” she frowned.  _

Although Jade couldn’t exactly understand what Tori was going through, she wanted to fix it. And so she’d enlisted the help of several people to plan a surprise that would hopefully give Tori her smile back for good. 

Just then, both timers went off and Cat yelped in shock before laughing at herself. Jade couldn’t help but smile through the eye roll as she checked the cake, showing it to Cat and sliding a toothpick in the middle before deeming it ready. 

Pulling it from the oven, she let it cool before eyeing the cream cheese frosting. Setting her phone down, she carefully managed to get the cake onto the serving plate and set to work meticulously spreading the frosting evenly along its’ slightly uneven surface. 

Just as she’d finished and gotten Cat’s approval, her phone vibrated with a text from Tori. “Tori’s leaving the store now,” she told Cat with a grin. “Text Beck and tell him to get the Zoom call going, I still need to decorate.” 

“Kay kay!” Cat replied, disconnecting the call after waving goodbye.

Reluctantly leaving the cake after covering it, Jade busied herself with hanging the few decorations she’d had time to buy at the store. There was the obligatory banner that hung just over the couch, of course, and a few streamers hung here and there around the living room. It was woefully sparse, but Jade knew that Tori wouldn’t mind as she smiled. 

Just then, she heard Tori’s car pulling into the driveway and she hurried over to the laptop. She had just gotten the video chat up when she heard the sound of a key in the lock and pressed a finger to her lips to silence everyone. 

Tori walked into the room, her arms filled with bags. “Just call me the queen of one trip grocery runs,” she announced, almost dropping one before Jade reached her, catching it easily. 

“You’re a dork, Vega,” she smirked, kissing her as she helped her set the groceries on the ground. “Now come here.” Taking her hand, she led her over to the computer and watched her face scrunch in confusion. 

“Jade? What’s--” 

Turning the screen back on, Jade grinned as everyone on the screen yelled, “Happy birthday, Tori!” and Tori’s face lit up with an ear-to-ear grin. 

“Oh my god, you guys,” she cooed, glancing at Jade lovingly. “Jade!” 

“Happy birthday, babe,” she smirked, pulling Tori into a deep kiss until the others started to complain. 

Laughing, Tori broke the kiss and wiped at her eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me,” she shook her head, sitting down and waving at the group call. Andre, Cat, Beck, Robbie, Trina, and of course, Holly and David all waved back, huge smiles on each of their faces. “Oh my god,” she groaned, turning around and taking in the decorations behind her that she’d somehow missed in person but seen through the small preview window in-call. “I seriously can’t believe you did all this,” she beamed. 

“Yeah, well, you wanted your birthday to be special,” Jade shrugged with a grin. “And you deserved that. Now come on, you ready for cake?” 

“Cake?” Tori’s eyes widened, sniffing the air suspiciously. “Jade, you didn’t burn the kitchen down, did you?” she asked playfully. 

“I just burned the first cake,” she grumbled sullenly. 

“I helped her with the second one!” Cat laughed, making Tori grin over at them again. 

“Come on, Vega,” Jade smirked, grabbing her wrist as Tori picked up the laptop and let herself be dragged along into the kitchen. 

Her eyes lit up at the sight of the cake, candles resting beside it. “It looks so good,” she grinned, kissing Jade again and giggling at the good-natured groans coming from the screen. 

“Hey, you don’t have to sound so surprised,” Jade grumbled, but she was grinning and Tori could see right through her. “It was supposed to say happy birthday on it, but you’re stupidly fast at grocery shopping and I ran out of time.” 

“It’s perfect, Jade,” Tori assured her as Jade stuck the candles in and lit them carefully. 

“Make a wish,” Beck grinned, the others echoing what he said. 

Tori closed her eyes and blew, smiling delightedly when she opened them again to see the flames extinguished. Clapping like a child, she watched as Jade plucked them back out and cut them each a slice. 

Settling in at the kitchen table, sitting close enough together that their shoulders touched, Tori and Jade ate birthday cake and spent hours chatting with their friends and family. 

Jade was thrilled to see that the smile never left Tori’s face, her hand often squeezing her leg under the table. 

Finally, the group began to disband one by one as the hour grew late. Trina was the last to leave, insisting that she needed to talk to Tori about  _ her  _ birthweek, but even she eventually had to go and Jade couldn’t deny that she was grateful for the silence. 

“Jade, I can’t believe you did all of this,” Tori smiled softly, a look reserved exclusively for her. 

“It was worth it to see you smile again,” Jade answered honestly, leaning in for a kiss. “But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”

Tori chuckled, shaking her head. “Jade West, the big softie.” 

“Seriously, Vega, you tell  _ anyone _ \--” 

“Relax,” she grinned. “I just wanted to tell you that this is the best birthday I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t have ever thought of something like this.” 

“I tried to get Nozu’s, but they’re shut down,” Jade told her, giving her leg a squeeze. “I wanted it to be perfect.” 

“It was,” Tori smiled, kissing her softly. And when she went to pull away, Jade wrapped her arms around her and pulled her back in, deepening the kiss just as the clock struck midnight. 

It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday. 


End file.
